1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to radio receivers and, more particularly, relates to portable radios having signal quality indicators within a peripheral vision of a user.
2. Description of the Related Art
Signal strength indicators are well-known on radios. Cellular radiotelephones have utilized light emitting diode (LED) and liquid crystal display (LCD) bar graph displays to indicate signal quality levels such as signal-to-noise ratio, signal strength and bit error rates. Before dialing to set up a telephone call, a user of a cellular radiotelephone could check the signal quality on the display. Thereafter, the user would hold the portable radio handset to the user's ear during a conversation. While the portable radiotelephone is held to a user's ear, the user is unable to visually perceive the signal quality.
Portable satellite radiotelephones have antennas that are more directional than terrestrial cellular radiotelephones. The antenna in a satellite radiotelephone handset should be held in a substantially vertical orientation for communication with satellites overhead. Should the user of a portable satellite radiotelephone handset move the antenna away from a substantially vertical orientation, the signal quality will diminish, but the user may not understand what is occurring. In digital cellular radio, the signal quality is not as audibly perceivable than is in older analog radio. A mechanism for providing user perceivable visual feedback is needed.